Films Incorporated
Films Incorporated was an American 16mm film distributor, who would often distribute educational films for classrooms and schools. They had headquarters in New York, Chicago, Illinois, Dallas, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles. Films Incorporated started in 1927. They were eventually acquired by Public Media Incorporated and shut down in 1989. In 2005, Public Media Incorporated was purchased by Image Entertainment (renamed to RLJE Films in 2018) and shut down. 1st Logo (1933?-1956?) Nickname(s): "The Glittering Text", "Glittering FI" Logo: On a black background with stars, there is the text "Distributed by" in a cursive font with a shadow. This fades into another screen with a glittering background. "FILMS" in a stylized font and "INCORPORATED" in a spaced-out font is seen. The "FILMS" text is glittering. "NEW YORK", "LOS ANGELES", "CHICAGO", "DALLAS", "ATLANTA", "LOS ANGELES", and "PORTLAND" in an italic font appear in this order. The background and "FILMS" text continue to sparkle. FX/SFX: The background fading, the background and "FILMS" text glittering, and the place names appearing. Music/Sounds: The opening theme to the film. Availability: The only film that is confirmed to have this logo is "Flip's Lunchroom" from 1933. Editor's Note: Great animation for the 1930's. 2nd Logo (1956-1967) Nickname(s): "FI In A Box" Logo: On a black background with a brick wall texture and a line at the bottom, there is a white box on the screen. A white splotch hits the box, and adds a white rectangle behind the box. Another white splotch hits the box, adding the letter F. A final white splotch hits the box, adding the I. The words "FILMS INCORPORATED" appear. "Presents" also appears on the line, and the line gets thicker. Variant: There is a sepia version, although there is no footage of it. FX/SFX: The splotches and the text appearing. Music/Sounds: The opening theme to the film. Availability: The only film that is confirmed to have this logo is "Kennedy vs. Khrushchev: Missile Showdown" from 1964. Editor's Note: Again, great animation. 3rd Logo (1967-1970) Nickname(s): "The FI" Logo: There is a colored cross-stitch background, which zooms out to reveal a stylized "fi". A line drops down from the bottom of the logo, which stretches and changes into the text "films incorporated". "presents" writes itself out under the text. Variants: * Due to film deterioration, the background will sometimes look different. * There is a black and white version. * There is a version with a plain background. FX/SFX: The background zooming, the line dropping down and changing, and the "presents" text wiping in. Music/Sounds: A trumpet tune with strange beeping noises at the end. Availability: Seen on 16mm releases of the time. Editor's Note: The logo is great. It's definitely tamer and more forgotten than the following logo... 4th Logo (1968-1989) Nickname(s): "The FI II", "FI of Doom" WARNING: Due to flashing lights, please do not put videos of this logo on this site. Logo: On a black background, a white square zooms in and spins around with a residue trailing effect. It moves back to the center of the screen before changing into 2 squares, which flash various colors. The squares transform into the "fi" logo while the text "A FILMS INCORPORATED PRESENTATION" wipes in at the bottom of the screen. Variants: * Due to film deterioration, the background will sometimes look different. * There is a sepia version. * There is a black and white version. * An in-credit version appeared on The Okies: Uprooted Farmers. FX/SFX: The trailing effects, the flashing, the "fi" appearing, the text wiping in. Music/Sounds: A descending tune, which changes to a chord noise and then into a warbling noise. Availability: This logo appeared on PBS educational films of the time. Don't expect this to appear on VHS tapes with the Films Incorporated address, since those had the PMI logo instead. Editor's Note: This logo is remembered for the scary music and the fast flashing. 5th Logo (1971?-1984?) Nickname(s): "The Boring FI" Logo: On a black background, there is the text "Distributed in the USA by FILMS INCORPORATED" at the top. In the middle is the text "a subsidiary of Public Media Incorporated", with "Public Media Incorporated" being their logo. At the bottom, there is the text "Distributed in Canada by BBC Enterprises". Variants: * Due to film deterioration, the background and text color can vary. * There is another version where the text at the bottom is "Distributed in Canada by BBC Television Distributors". FX/SFX: None, as it's a still logo. Music/Sounds: None. Availability: This can be seen on American 16mm prints of BBC educational films at the time. Editor's Note: This logo is just boring. However, it's nowhere near as scary as the previous logo.